Second ‘no questions’ sick cert found

A Limerick businessman said he has uncovered a second incident of a doctor issuing a no-questions-asked sick certificate to one of his workers who was abroad.

Shane Gleeson said he has made a formal complaint to the Irish Medical Council and demands they investigate the doctor and sick leave certificates he issued.

Mr Gleeson’s family business employs up to 60 people in convenience shops in the city.

He said a worker admitted he had contacted the doctor’s surgery from abroad and had a friend collect the certificate at the surgery.

When attending a business meeting in Shannon last month, Mr Gleeson was amazed when he saw his “sick” staff member walk through the arrivals gate after getting off a flight from mainland Europe.

Now he has discovered the same worker took fake sick leave six months ago armed with a certificate from the same doctor.

Mr Gleeson said: “Last month he was out sick and with a chest infection and I was kind of curious to know how he was coming into Shannon off a plane.

“I briefly met him as I had other things to do at the airport and I later contacted him as he had failed to attend for a medical with the company doctor. I invited him to a disciplinary meeting to discuss the situation.”

During that meeting, it emerged the worker had booked a holiday six weeks previous to go to a friend’s wedding and did not want to use his holidays.

And the worker subsequently admitted he did something similar six months ago, assisted by a certificate from the same doctor.

Mr Gleeson said: “He admitted this was the second time he had done this. I asked him how the doctor could issue him with a sick cert when he was not even in the country, and he said this was standard practice and got a friend to collect it as he didn’t normally meet the doctor.

He said when he wanted a sick certificate he simply phoned the surgery and paid €10 to whoever was at the (surgery) reception and went away with a certificate.

Mr Gleeson said that, as the staff member was a very diligent worker, he decided to deal with the matter through a written warning.

A spokesperson for the Irish Medical Council said yesterday: “When the Medical Council receives a complaint about a doctor, the Preliminary Proceedings Committee of the Medical Council must decide whether the case should go on to become an inquiry before the Fitness to Practise Committee.

“If an inquiry is held in public it is only at this stage that details of the complaint become available to the public as to make details of the complaint public before the inquiry could be deemed to prejudice the outcome.”